University of North Carolina Athletics
#14 Tar Heels Open ACC Play Versus Clemson
January 5, 2000 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 5, 2000
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - North Carolina, which played 10 of its first 13 games away from home this season, begins Atlantic Coast Conference regular season play Thursday night against Clemson. Carolina will host NC State on Saturday evening before playing at Wake Forest on Wed., Jan. 12.
Carolina is 39-7 in ACC openers, including a 17-2 record in ACC openers against Clemson. The Tar Heels traditionally played its ACC opener against the Tigers until the early 1980s.
UNC is 2-1 at home this year, having defeated Tennessee Tech on Dec. 12 and Howard on Jan. 2 and lost its home opener to Michigan State on Dec. 1. This season marked the first since 1992-93 that Carolina had played just two home games before Jan. 1.
Carolina is 9-4 this year and lost four games before Jan. 1 for the first time 1989-90. That season, UNC lost five out of 13 games played in November and December.
Carolina has been ranked in 626 Associated Press polls since the poll's inception in 1949, more than any other school in the nation. Kentucky is second with 615.
Tar Heel players abound in the latest ACC statistical leaders (as of Jan. 3), with UNC individuals leading the conference in field goal percentage (Brendan Haywood, .733), three-point field goal percentage (Joseph Forte, .429), assists (Ed Cota, 9.3 per game) and blocked shots (Haywood, 1.5 per game).
Three Carolina players are among the top 15 scorers in the ACC - Forte (fifth, 16.3 points per game), Max Owens (14th, 13.7 ppg) and Haywood (15th, 12.9 ppg). That same trio also ranks among the top 10 field-goal shooters in the conference - Haywood (1st, .733), Owens (fifth, .537), Forte (9th, .471).
TAR HEELS AND TIGERS
Carolina leads the series with Clemson, 105-16, and has posted a 45-0 record in the series in Chapel Hill. UNC is 17-2 alltime against Clemson in ACC openers.
Carolina is 14-0 against the Tigers in the Smith Center. The 88-79 UNC triumph in the 1997-98 season was the only game in the 14 played in the Smith Center that was decided by fewer than 10 points.
The Tar Heels have won 18 of the last 21 and games between the two schools
Last season, the two teams split two games, with Carolina winning the first game in Chapel Hill, 69-53 on Jan. 2, and Clemson winning the rematch in Clemson, 78-63 on Feb. 4.
In the first contest, Carolina trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half, but pulled to within one at halftime and went on a 27-7 run in the final 9:12 of the game to win its 45th in a row at home over Clemson.
In the return matchup in Littlejohn Coliseum, the Tigers outrebounded Carolina by a 39-28 margin and posted a 78-63 victory. Carolina had only seven offensive rebounds, compared to Clemson's 21 defensive boards.
UCLA GAME SET FOR 4:00 P.M.
Carolina's home game on Jan. 15 versus UCLA has been set for 4:00 p.m. and will be televised by CBS. The starting time was announced Jan. 3, following the release of the National Football League playoff schedule.
IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
Carolina is ranked No. 14 by the Associated Press and No. 14 by ESPN/USA Today this week. The Tar Heels have been ranked in the AP poll for 170 consecutive weeks, dating back to the 1990-91 preseason poll. That is the longest active streak in the country and the third-longest streak overall. Carolina also holds the second-longest streak alltime, having been ranked for 171 consecutive weeks from Dec. 5, 1972, to Dec. 14, 1982. UCLA holds the alltime record with 221 consecutive weeks in the AP poll.
CAROLINA POURS IT ON IN WIN OVER HOWARD
The Tar Heels shot .679 from the floor while holding Howard to a .250 clip in the second half as Carolina rang in the year 2000 with an 86-53 win over the Bison Sunday afternoon at the Smith Center. UNC shot .611 for the game, winning after a nine-day layoff.
Carolina blocked 11 Howard shots, with Brendan Haywood and Julius Peppers each swatting three. The Heels dished out 28 assists on 33 total baskets (84.8 percent) in the game.
Haywood tallied 21 points, 13 rebounds, three assists and three blocks in just 24 minutes of action to lead Carolina. Ed Cota had five points, 12 assists and just one turnover to pass Clemson's Grayson Marshall and move into third place in ACC history in career assists. Kris Lang made his second start of the season, finishing with 10 points in 19 minutes.
LOUISVILLE 97, CAROLINA 80
The Cardinals took advantage of 21 UNC turnovers en route to a 97-80 win in Freedom Hall. The Tar Heels led 18-17 seven minutes into the game, but Louisville gained a 40-32 edge near the end of the first half. Joseph Forte nailed a three-pointer to cut the margin to 40-35, but the Cardinals closed out the first half with an impressive, 10-0 run.
Louisville did not commit a turnover in the first half and had just six in the game.
Carolina's 21 turnovers were the most by UNC since it committed that many in the win over Maryland in the 1999 ACC Tournament semifinal.
The Tar Heels out-rebounded the Cardinals, 37-31, but Louisville had 16 offensive rebounds.
Brendan Haywood posted his first double-double of the season as he scored 10 points and had 10 rebounds. It was his first 10-rebound game since he grabbed 10 against Maryland on March 6, 1999.
Ed Cota had nine assists, but committed a season-high seven turnovers. That equalled the number of turnovers he committed in the two previous games against Indiana and Miami. It was one turnover off his career high.
Max Owens led the Tar Heels with 22 points. It was the fourth time in his career he has scored 20 or more points and the first time he has accomplished the feat outside the Charlotte Coliseum.
Carolina shot 53.8 percent from the floor in the first half, but trailed, 50-35 at intermission. The Tar Heels committed 15 first-half turnovers that led to 23 Louisville points, the Cardinals had 11 offensive rebounds that led to 11 second-chance points and Louisville committed no turnovers. UL shot 46.8 percent from the floor in the first half.
The Tar Heels pulled within nine points (54-45, 56-47) on two occasions in the second half.
In the two previous games on the December road trip (Miami and Indiana), the Tar Heels had 39 assists on 52 baskets (75 percent). Against Louisville, Carolina had just 14 assists on 30 baskets, a percentage of .467.
INDIANA 82, CAROLINA 73
Indiana guard A.J. Guyton hit 7 of 12 three-point field goal attempts en route to 31 points as the Hoosiers edged the Tar Heels, 72-63, in the Meadowlands. Guyton broke open a 63-63 tie with a three-pointer with 5:32 to play. The Tar Heels had rallied from eight points behind to take a 55-51 lead midway through the second half. Indiana had a 12-0 run in the first half and a 10-0 run after the game was deadlocked at 63.
Carolina center Brendan Haywood matched his season scoring high with 20 points in just 21 minutes of action. Haywood, plagued by foul trouble throughout the game, was 7 for 8 from the floor, 6 for 6 from the line, had five rebounds and two blocked shots.
With Haywood on the floor, the Tar Heels beat Indiana by six points. Without Haywood, the Hoosiers held a 15-point edge.
Ed Cota had 11 assists, the 24th time in his career he has posted double-digit assists. It was the fourth time this season he posted 10 or more.
Jason Capel had a team-high eight rebounds, the eighth time in 12 games this season he has led the team in rebounding.
Kris Lang scored 11 points in a season-high 20 minutes of action. Lang, seeing limited playing time due to painful shin splints, scored in double figures for the third time this year.
CAROLINA 78, MIAMI 68
Jason Capel scored 20 points, pulled down 14 rebounds, had five assists and two steals to lead the Tar Heels to a 78-68 win over Miami (Fla.) at the National Car Rental Center in Sunrise, Fla. Capel set a career high with his 14 boards, two more than he had at Buffalo on December 7th. Capel made 5 of 10 shots from the floor, including 2 of 3 >from three-point range, and 8 of 10 free throws. He had a key assist late in the game when he hit Joseph Forte with a long pass on an out-of-bounds play to give UNC a seven-point lead. He also had a clutch offensive rebound as he out-fought two Miami players. He was fouled after the rebound and hit two free throws.
Ed Cota had 11 points, nine assists and four rebounds. Cota's first rebound was the 400th of his career.
The Tar Heels shot 80 percent from the free throw line (20 of 25). Jason Capel was 8 for 10 and Max Owens made all five of his free throws.
Max Owens was 6 for 10 from the floor (6 for 9 from inside the arc) and had six rebounds.
Joseph Forte had 14 points on 5 of 12 shooting from the floor. He made a big three-point field goal late in the game after the Hurricanes had cut a 16-point lead to just six points.
First-team All-Big East Conference forward Johnny Hemsley scored a game-high 21 points, but the Tar Heel defense held him to 8 of 30 shooting from the floor, including 1 from 10 in three-point attempts.
COTA'S CAREER NUMBERS IN EXCLUSIVE COMPANY
Senior point guard Ed Cota has 1,036 points, 867 assists and 410 rebounds in his career. He is just the fourth player in Carolina history to score 1,000 points and have 500 assists (joining Phil Ford, Kenny Smith and Jeff Lebo).
Cota is the first player in ACC history to compile 1,000 points, 800 assists and 400 rebounds in a career.
Cota ranks third in ACC history with 867 career assists. Bobby Hurley of Duke is first in conference history with 1,076 career assists and Chris Corchiani of NC State is second with 1,038.
Cota led the ACC in assists in each of his first three collegiate seasons and is vying to become the only player in conference history to lead the ACC in assists four times. Virginia's Ralph Sampson and Wake Forest's Tim Duncan both led the ACC in blocked shots four times and are the only players in ACC history to lead the league in a statistical category four times.
OFFENSIVE IMPROVEMENT
In the latest ACC statistics (as of Jan. 3) Carolina led the ACC in field goal percentage (.510), was second in three-point field goal percentage (.376) and third in scoring (82.2 points per game).
Carolina is averaging 82.2 points per game thus far in 1999-2000 and has scored more than 80 in eight of 13 games. Last year, Carolina averaged 71.4 points per game and scored 80 points or more just six times all season. UNC's 102 points versus UNLV were the most in a single game since scoring 107 in a double-overtime win at Georgia Tech on Feb. 8, 1998.
BERSTICKER UNDERGOES SUCCESSFUL SURGERY
Director of Sports Medicine Dr. Tim Taft said surgery on Dec. 6 on center/forward Brian Bersticker was "successful." Taft inserted a screw and performed a bone graft on Bersticker's left foot as a result of a fracture he suffered in Carolina's Dec. 3 victory over the College of Charleston in the Charlotte Coliseum. Bersticker should be out of action for approximately 10 weeks, putting a possible return in mid- to late-February.
The Virginia Beach, Va., native was averaging better than five points and three rebounds per game in the four games before he was injured. Bersticker had four points in five minutes against the College of Charleston before his injury.
TAR HEELS WIN MAUI INVITATIONAL TITLE
North Carolina outscored Purdue, 56-26, in the second half and defeated the Boilermakers, 90-75, to win the 1999 Maui Invitational on Nov. 24 in Lahaina, Hawaii. The Tar Heels earlier had defeated Southern California, 82-65, and Georgetown, 85-79, to advance to the finals.
Ed Cota had 15 points and seven assists in the Purdue game and broke the UNC record for career assists in the contest. Cota now has 770 career assists, topping the old school record of 768 previously held by Kenny Smith (1984-87), and ranks fifth in Atlantic Coast Conference history. Tyrone Bogues of Wake Forest is fourth in ACC history with 781 career assists. Cota averaged 16.7 points, 8.0 assists and 3.3 rebounds in three games in Maui and was named to the all-tournament team.
Freshman guard Joseph Forte was named MVP of the Maui Invitational and to the all-tournament team after averaging 20.7 points and 6.3 rebounds in the three Tar Heel wins, hitting 22 of 39 field goals (.564) and 7 of 10 three-pointers (.700) in the tournament. Forte led Carolina in scoring against Southern California (24 points) and Purdue (21 points) and scored 17 in the semifinal win over Georgetown. His 24 points in his collegiate debut against USC were the most ever by a UNC freshman in his first college game and the most by any Tar Heel in his first game since Lennie Rosenbluth scored 30 in the first game of his sophomore year in 1954-55 before the days of freshman eligibility.
Junior center Brendan Haywood was named to the Maui Invitational all-tournament team, averaging 14.3 points and 6.0 rebounds in three Tar Heel wins. Haywood had 15 points and five rebounds against USC, 20 points and seven rebounds versus Georgetown, and eight points and six rebounds in the win over Purdue.
TAR HEELS PICKED TO WIN ACC IN 1999-2000
Carolina received 74 of the 90 first-place votes and 792 points overall as it was picked to win the Atlantic Coast Conference in 1999-2000 in a vote of ACC media. Duke finished second with 16 first place votes and 712 points. Wake Forest (577 points) was picked third, followed by Maryland (481), NC State (442), Georgia Tech (396), Virginia (358), Florida State (179) and Clemson (113).
HEAD COACH BILL GUTHRIDGE
Guthridge is 67-18 as the Tar Heels' head coach. He is in his third year as head coach, but 33rd as part of the UNC program. He was an assistant coach for Dean Smith for 30 seasons before taking over in 1997-98 following Smith's retirement.
Guthridge won more games (58) in his first two seasons than any coach in NCAA history and reached 50 wins faster than any coach in UNC history.
In 1997-98, Guthridge set the NCAA record for most wins by a first-year head coach with 34.
TAR HEELS ON TV
North Carolina annually is one of the top draws on college basketball television broadcasts. This season, all but one of the Tar Heels' 30 regular-season games will be televised. All of UNC?s Atlantic Coast Conference games will be broadcast. Only the Howard games (Jan. 2) will not be televised this season.
